Introduction

Have you ever asked yourself, “Is this all there is to being saved?” I once asked that same question. The answer is no! The same one who would convince you that there is nothing more to being a Christian is the same one who will convince you of other false things. It’s very obvious in the Word of God that life is not just about being saved. That’s not the perfect will of God. The perfect will of God is that you take your vengeance out on the devil, and through that you lay up fruit to your account in heaven.

7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will,

Eph 1:7-11 (NASB)

Did you know that He has a will for your life? Did you know that God has a perfect plan for each person reading this? You may not be called to the position that I am, but you’re called. He has a divine purpose for you. It’s up to you to fulfill it. You start by making the decision. Do I just want to be saved or do I want to go on with the perfect will of God?

Resisting the Enemy Begins with You

I’ve found the further you move into God the more He tells you about the enemy. Be ready for this. When you move into God and into your calling, He tells you more about how Satan comes to neutralize you and keep you from proving the perfect will of God in your life.

Knowing Your Enemy

It is important that you understand your enemy’s tactics. Satan will come like a thief in the night seeking whom he may devour. He will use whatever he can to keep you from fulfilling your calling. His only weapons against you, however, are things inside you that are not of God. Satan can only use what is in you to turn you away from the perfect will of God. He manipulates you using the ungodly things in your life to lead you off the path God has chosen. It is not Satan that actually destroys you. In essence, you become your own destruction.

You will learn how Satan attacks a move of God. Satan has certain behaviors that are common to all attacks. For instance, you don’t see the enemy attack in the middle of a big move of God. Instead he’ll work along the outer fringes, anywhere that he can, seeking whom he may devour. The enemy comes in to see if he can lure one person away with some temptation or deception. He preys on people who don’t fully submit themselves. He is always around the outer fringes seeking anyone who he can influence and use. The more you move into God the more you will understand and identify when Satan attacks like this.

You can watch the enemy’s work manifest in a person’s behavior. Satan accentuates character flaws that cause people to lie and torment others. If there is a component of a person’s character that is ungodly, it is a weapon for Satan to use against them. The enemy will use these weapons to neutralize ministries, destroy people, and sometimes even steal their salvation.

There is a definite pattern that the enemy uses to keep people from fulfilling the perfect will of God. When a person starts to seek more of God through prayer and fasting, Satan brings his heaviest attacks. Fortunately, Satan cannot succeed unless he finds something inside of you to use. Many people have a hard time accepting this message. People don’t want to accept this level of accountability. If Satan devours you, he is victorious. The only way Satan can have a victory is if you give it to him. Everything you need to enforce the devil’s defeat was given to you through the grace of God. You cannot fail!

I’ve seen seemingly strong Christians come and go. Many of them started out trying to fulfill their calling and became neutralized, sitting in one spot, not doing anything for God and barely making it to church on Sunday.

Just as God has a plan, Satan has a plan over every country, every area, every city, every group, and every individual. It’s his war machine that Paul describes in Ephesians 6:12. Nothing happens by chance. Satan has a design. He has a plan of destruction. He would like to steal your salvation, kill you and take you to hell with him. How does he do this? He uses your cares against you. Don’t underestimate him.

Stopping The Thief From Devouring You

The War Machine

12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Eph 6:12 (NASB)

Satan doesn’t do anything. He has somebody that searches for Christians that can be devoured. He has a well-oiled machine. He has a war machine. He describes it in the previous verse. I will define it piece by piece. Powers are assignments against areas. Rulers of the darkness of this age are over cities. They are the strong men that make sure your church does not see revival. Rulers of the darkness of this age are devils that Satan sends in when good things are happening to try and divide a church. They try to steal the revival that was given to the church two thousand years ago.

Spiritual wickedness in heavenly places describes low-level devils like bitterness, envy, jealousy, strife, division, and unforgiveness. He’ll use those low-level devils to try and cause strife in the church. If that doesn’t work, the strong man is sent to prevent revival.

Some people are so close to God that if they quit right now, Satan would still try to destroy them. Some of you are too dangerous to him. There is always danger of you turning back towards the plan of God and begin to walk in it again.

Many times Satan doesn’t need to send the strong man throughout the churches. There’s enough spiritual wickedness already operating there. He doesn’t have to send the strong man when the whole church is being controlled by spiritual wickedness in high places. If that person or group of people begins to turn toward prayer and fasting, and wanting more of God, then he’s going to send an assignment of the strong man.

Spiritual wickedness can vary. For some it may be care, for others it may be lusts. For others it may be love of money and greed. People who are consumed with greed might be very rich and unwilling to serve the gospel. The deceitfulness of riches has taken them out. Also poverty can take them out when people think it’s godly or humble not to have lots of money. Satan is devouring them because they have something for him to use. Remember, he can only devour you if you’ve got something in your life that he can grab on to. He’s a defeated foe. We’re here to enforce the defeat of Satan. We can’t enforce the defeat of Satan if we can’t even enforce the defeat of the spiritual wickedness.

The book of Jude states there are ungodly people that have crept in to the body of Christ. Wouldn’t you agree that today some churches are allowing ungodly men to creep in? Just look at some of the people that are being ordained in some of today’s churches? Maybe the Book of Jude was written for today.

12These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit,

Jude 1:12 (NASB)

You are holding communion with these ungodly people. You are ignoring the sin that they’ve committed. You are accepting their lifestyle by the grace of God. They’re self-serving, self-exalting and self-worshipping, They only think of themselves. They are clouds without water. In other words, when it comes time for the anointing to rain down, they are dry. They look good but they have no substance. They’re spots in your love feast, carried about by the winds, laid out on trees without fruit, twice dead, pulled up by the root. They’ve accepted a lifestyle of getting out of the body of Christ, crawling back in, then falling back into flesh. They try to walk in both kingdoms, and convince themselves that it’s all right.

17But you, beloved, ought to remember the words that were spoken beforehand by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, 18that they were saying to you, ``In the last time there will be mockers, following after their own ungodly lusts.'' 19These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly-minded, devoid, of the Spirit.

Jude 1:17-19 (NASB)

Every movement, every decision, every reaction, and every word out of their mouths are ruled by the senses instead of their born again spirit. These people are ruled by circumstances. What their eyes see and what their natural mind perceives rule them.

20But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,

Jude 1:20 (NASB)

In other words, you can’t keep yourselves in the grace of God unless you build yourself up on your most holy faith by praying in the spirit. It delivers you unto the love of God. It moves you. It changes your life. You leave behind the sense-ruled realm. You leave behind the things of the soul and of the flesh that dictate your actions. Those things no longer dominate you.

22And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

Jude 1:22-23 (NASB)

How can you serve God without the Holy Spirit? How can you even be a vessel of God unless you turn yourself over to the Holy Spirit? How will you keep from being deceived and devoured like these spots of the love feasts of the early days? Some have crept in and made a mockery of the grace of God. The same Holy Spirit that brought them up out of that sense ruled realm brings you out of it too.

The enemy’s job is to steal, to kill, and to destroy the works of God that could be done through you. He goes about seeking someone whom he may devour at some part of his or her life that he may devour. If he can find those spots in your life he’ll start devouring you. Then all of a sudden you become a grumbler and complainer. All of a sudden you start justifying and excusing things in your life that are not of God. You can become a spot upon the love feast of the body of Christ. This is what Jude is warning us about. People like this go back to the flesh and the law and the world. They sway back and forth between their flesh and Christ. They justify their behavior through the grace of God. When that evil day comes and you’ll have nothing to stand on. When your evil day comes, regardless of what it is, you won’t have the tools and the things in the word of God that are necessary overcome. You won’t have the faith in God necessary to withstand the evil day. That is Satan’s ultimate plan.

The Victory

God will also show you that you already have the victory. You’ll learn that all the necessary equipment has been given to you to enforce Satan’s defeat. There is only one way to stop the enemy from using you against yourself. You must submit yourself to God. Let him transform those things inside you that are not part of His image. When you let Him change those things, you are proving the perfect will of God in your life. By proving the perfect will of God, you are doing what you’re called to do. You are enforcing Satan’s defeat.

Don’t wait for the victory. He already gave the victory! Everyone is called to enforce Satan’s defeat. God has already given you the victory over him. If Satan devours you, you give him the victory. Resist the enemy steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. In other words your problems aren’t unique. Satan doesn’t have any new tricks. No matter what the problem is, somebody else has faced it before.

6And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Heb 11:6 (NASB)

Without faith it is impossible to please God. Do you want more faith? Seek the author and the finisher of your faith! His name is the Lord Jesus Christ! He’s a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.

The devil has a plan for every angle. He has no new tricks, but don’t shortchange him. He’s been studying us for thousands of years. He knows what works against us. He’ll go after anything in your life that he can use to destroy you. Satan is good at what he does. You can’t rest in the fact that Satan is a defeated foe. That’s not what Jesus said.

10The thief comes only, to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have itabundantly.

John 10:10 (NASB)

Fortunately, He sent us the Holy Spirit. He’ll help you, comfort you and guide you into all truth. You don’t have to stay in deception. You don’t have to be deceived for the next thirty years like you were the last thirty years. You can walk out of it. But there’s just one problem. You must abide in Him to have that anointing; you cannot live how you have lived. You cannot abide in the world for 23 hours a day, and in Him 1 hour a day. You must live it.

Submitting To God

I can’t resist the devil alone. Only when I walk closer to God and submit myself to Him do I have what it takes to resist Satan.

Often people in healing lines will say, “I’m standing against this disease.

I ask, “You’re standing? What are you standing with?”

Usually they reply, “Well, I don’t know but I am standing.” They are not standing. They are wishing. If you want to stand against the enemy, you must submit yourself to God. To submit yourself to God you must know Him. The best way to get to know God is through His Word.

Submitting yourself to God means striving to know Him and His will for you. The good news is He has given us everything we need to know when we submit ourselves in His Word. We have everything we need to resist Satan in any area in which he may attack. You must simply draw upon the things in His Word. If you aren’t happy with something in your character, submit to God’s image. Find God’s character in His Word. If you have the problem with your character of no one being able to trust you, get into the Word and find out what the image of Christ is concerning trust. The Word of God says that if you submit to God and resist the enemy he’ll flee. He has no choice.

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might

Eph 6:10 (NASB)

Notice that He divides this verse into two mandates. Be strong in the Lord and be strong in His power and His might. Just being saved isn’t enough. You must also have that power working in your life. You can be saved and cancer can come upon you and take you to heaven. You might get a trip to heaven, but you won’t finish the work God has planned for your life. You may get to heaven but at what cost? Is it worth going to heaven early if Satan’s defeat is not enforced and more souls are lost?

7Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:7-8 (NASB)

This is just like God. He tells you exactly how to resist the enemy. Submit to God. When you submit to God and draw near to Him, you begin to operate in His grace. His grace is necessary to resist Satan and enforce his defeat.